Mainsail Partners has raised $216 million for its latest fund, Mainsail Partners III. Prominent institutions, endowments and entrepreneurs joined return investors in the fund, which took less than five months to close and was heavily oversubscribed. Prominent investors in Mainsail Partners III include Adams Street, Dartmouth College, Private Advisors and RCP Advisors, as well as returning investors such as Grove Street Partners, Regis Management Company and Shea Ventures.
“We are excited to partner with Mainsail again on their third fund,” said John Morrissey, Managing Director at Shea Ventures. “Shea Ventures has a great appreciation for Mainsail’s approach to creating value. More and more firms are representing themselves as value-added partners to their portfolio, but Mainsail has the strategy, the team and the results to back it up.”
Mainsail leverages company-building experience and an in-house operations team to help bootstrapped entrepreneurs scale their businesses and overcome challenges faced by fast-growing companies. Mainsail collaborates with founders and management teams on initiatives, including recruiting key hires, implementing technology infrastructure, building sales organizations and optimizing marketing channels. Mainsail also leverages a network of CEOs, executives and industry thought-leaders to advise management teams and identify partnerships for Mainsail’s portfolio companies.
“We are excited to have additional capital to continue partnering with founders and management teams to build great companies,” said Jason Payne, co-founder of Mainsail. “Raising this fund is an important part of the process, but the capital we provide is only one part of the value we deliver. Our strategy of making a limited number of investments per year allows us to get actively involved with each company at both a strategic and a tactical level.”
Mainsail Partners invests from $5 million to $15 million in companies that are located in the United States and Canada with revenue of $4 million to $50 million and EBITDA of $1 million to $8 million. The firm was founded by Gavin Turner and Jason Payne in 2003 and is based in San Francisco, CA (www.mainsailpartners.com).
“Mainsail has a great deal of respect for bootstrapped entrepreneurs. We understand the discipline and commitment it takes to build a great product or service, and grow a large customer base without using outside capital,” said Gavin Turner, co-founder of Mainsail. “But scaling a company from $5 million to $50 million or more in revenue requires an additional set of skills and resources. This is where Mainsail excels. We have the experience and resources to help bootstrapped companies overcome the challenges of sustained growth.”